What a difference a century makes

The Somme between Bray and Peronne is a tranquil river cutting through chalk hills. Running roughly in parallel is the dreamy Somme canal.  In June, the harvest is being gathered. On Sundays, families go for expeditions in the wood and waters beside the river, or seek shade in the trees which crown the hills. Many take a ride on the little railway of the Upper Somme, the Chemin de fer Froissy-Dompierre CFCD. Green and rural as it is now, it was a theatre of war in 1916.

Place André Audinot, Péronne, dominated by its old fort. This town, defending the Upper Somme was the primary objective of the Somme offensive. Ironically, it was taken without bloodshed in 1917 when Hindenburg shortened teh German line.

In 1916, the Allies faced the Central Powers across a Front stretching from Switzerland to the Channel with the territ. The Somme river was the boundary between the British and French sectors while the Front ran west of Dompierre on the plateau of Santerre. My geography teacher would have called the Santerre a dip slope, declining gently from an escarpment.  She might also have added 'anyone trying to attack from the west would be struggling up a hill, in full view of the enemy' The enemy would also have a grandstand view of any preparations for a battle so it would be hard to keep the element of surprise.
The Allies, in short had rather stumbled into this battle. The British wanted a position north of the Somme because that kept them in touch with the Channel ports. The French therefore had to be where they were. The British had agreed that their large new army of volunteers would be battle-ready by mid 1916. The French were only too keen to let them share the fighting. In the winter of 1915, the two chiefs of staff had decided on an offensive in the Somme area in late summer 1916. The greatest strategic target of the area was Péronne; the real hope was for a breakthrough at the front. The Allies could then encircle the enemy and move into undefended territory.
The situation then became complicated. In late February 1916, the Germans launched a massive attack on Verdun (a more important target than Péronne) and the French were keen to provide a distraction. Therefore you could say that the choice of the Somme as a battleground was a product of hope and fear - fear of being cut off from home, fear of losing a strategic target nearly 300 km away and the vague hope of a breakthrough.
In our article in May's edition of Continental Modeller, and in our book 'Colonel Péchot: tracks to the trenches' there are some helpful maps.

South bank of the Somme July 1916 looking towards Curlu, one agonising kilometre east of Cappy. Illustration from 'Illustration' courtesy M. D. Wright

We should have the greatest respect for the soldiers and support staff who had this impossible task - also for the smaller force of Germans who suffered too but gave a good account of themselves. 
For the British, the Battle of the Somme began on July 1st. For the French, it began earlier. They had been committed in depth since August 1914. Among other things, the two years between 1914 and 16  had taught them the value of transport. The small nucleus of 60cm supply railways designed by Prosper Péchot was expanded and updated.
To recognise the campaign, ongoing over two years, APPEVA, the organisation behind the CFCD, held a centenary commemoration from 5th to 8th May this year. It was an atmospheric recreation, with locomotives of the time and people in period costume. Train rides took the public up to the plateau; a short and pleasant ride in 2016 though the journey for the infantry of 1916 seemed neither short nor pleasant.

A Péchot 'wagon-plat' waits by the Somme canal, CFCD May 2016. It is in remarkably good condition considering its 110-odd years. The brake operating wheels have been removed; the brakesman has to apply and release the brakes using an operating thread on the bogie. Just seen, a pair of bogie-bolsters are carrying lengths of prefabricated track.

The Battle of the Somme only recaptured a small area, and left a heavy toll. Many go to visit the extensive cemeteries with a mix of sadness and wonder. Over this and the subsequent years of the war, gradually lessons were learned, some more quickly than others.

Baldwin Gas Mechanical 50hp locotractor with admiring British officers! Versions appeared served French and US front-lines. The design was one of a new breed; unlike a steam locomotive which advertised its presence with smoke and sparks, the BGM was relatively discreet. The original locomotive would have had a fuel tank balanced on its 'nose' and  large lamps front and rear.

Modern warfare could not be sustained by gallantry and discipline alone. Initially reluctant to use trench railways the British started their War Department Light Railways WDLR) programme. More use was made of internal combustion engines. Tracked vehicles - tanks - were introduced to sweep away barbed wire and to cross trenches. The French introduced new techniques of attack - meticulously planned bombardment and suitably trained troops.  The Germans too were learning fast so that for a while there was a real arms race; the entry of the USA into the War eventually swung it for the Allies.
Thanks to commemorative events such as this, the British public are finding out about the vast 60cm network of the WDLR which was built to service the Front. Books such as Roy Link's WDLR Album and my biography of Péchot are also contributing to general awareness.

Hunslet Quarry Tanks - Nearly finished!

Hi, after a holiday I have finally had a fortnight without interuption to get on with the second batch of Hunslets.  The end is in sight.  The photo shows where the eleven locos are at.  All the chassis run on air, all the platework is now finished and most of the boiler and burner parts are made.

6th June. The stage the second batch is at.

What is left is to fit the gas valve pipe and burner to the boiler, then finish the boiler by fitting the regulator, make the steam pipe and complete the steam circuit by fitting the lubricator. After that, make and fit the safety valve and pressure gauge,  make and fit the water-feed clack and fill pipework,  assemble the firebox, safety valve and bonnet castings, steam test the loco,  re-fit all the platework and pin the cranks to the axles,  strip, prime, and paint - FINISH.
How long will this take, about a month?  So next week I will e-mail  the interested and see if they still want a loco.
Do look at our last post some rather atmospheric pictures from the Somme.

Somme Centennial

The Battle of the Somme needs no introduction but unlike the British, the French commemorate the beginning of the battle in May rather than July. This explains why we were at the Chemin de Fer Froissy-Dompierre from May 5th to 8th this year. The celebration at the CFCD was a double annuiversary; the centenary of the battle of the Somme and the 45th anniversary of the resurrection of this unique 60cm railway.
The railway was rescued by Jacques Pradayroil and others who formed APPEVA and the Blondin family who for two generations (and counting) have driven the railway to the success that it is today. It is a major site for those interested in the history of the 'Soixante' with an emphasis on military equipment. Even more interestingly, parts of the railway are still on the original alignment set down in the First World War.
We first encountered the railway in the early Eighties before it became so familiar. Luckily, in spite of major investment in a modern museum the railway still holds a lot of its essential character. It was built to move material from the canal de Somme up the steep valley side on to the plain above. To do this it utilises two-stage zigzags and a tunnel (added in the Twenties). When we think that a single mile of Front when quiet required at least 80 tonnes of basic stores a day, (plus engineering supplies) we begin to see how busy such a railway would have been.

May morning 2016 at the CFCD, Somme canal to one side, locomotives including in steam to the other. Photo Malcolm Wright

The atmosphere of this photo captures something of the supply end of a trench railway. Barges on the Somme canal would bring up supplies which were transhipped here before being moved up to forward supply dumps. From there, trains would move at night by petrol power to the Front. 60cm gauge at this, safer, end of the line tended to be properly engineered. At the forward end, rail was laid, relaid and often repaired in a matter of hours.

Kerr Stuart Joffre 0-6-0T  from the West Lancashire Railway visiting the CFCD in May 2016. Photograph Malcolm Wright

Although, thanks to Prosper Péchot, the French had a lead in siege train technology in the 1890s, the Germans as second adopters overtook them. It was the Germans who started the war ready with 1000 miles of track and corresponding material.. The scramble to defend Paris and then the needs of trench warfare had them hurrying to update. In the autumn of 1914, they placed large orders. To the existing Péchot system bogies and wagons were added a simplified Decauville design. As the advance of the central powers threatened their own industrial areas, many orders had to be placed abroad.
The design of 0-6-0 tank engine in the photo above was made both in France (Decauville) and by Kerr Stuart in England. Two differences are obvious even to the non-specialist. The English cousin has a spark arrestor chimney and the platework over the tanks results in a 'three-stepped' side view. Its French relation had a straight chimney and more angular platework, for all the world looking like four 'steps'.
For another chance to see this little darling, the West Lancashire Railway PR4 6SP lies between Southport and Preston and is open on Sundays and special occasions between Easter to October.

The British sector of the Front lay to the north, on the far side of the Somme river. In spring and summer of 1916, they had almost no trench railways, apart from heroic improvisations by the 'boots on the ground' and a system they had inherited from the French. During the battle of the Somme, the War Department Light Railways were formed. The new Directorate of Light Railways placed vast orders. As British engineering firms had their hands full of French orders, they immediately looked overseas to the great Baldwin Works of Philadelphia, USA, among others.

Baldwin 4-6-0T from the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway pictured at the CFCD in May 2016. Photo Malcolm Wright

A total of 486 of these Baldwin 4-6-0T locomotives were supplied to the WDLR during the war.  As with human combatants, many were irreparably damaged by the long and horrific conflict. The survivors were sold off during the years of peace and served in fields, mines and quarries, many abroad. If only this restored locomotive could talk!
If you missed a chance to take a train at Froissy, she will be back at the Leighton Buzzard light railway this summer.
During the celebrations, Malcolm took his model Baldwin 4-6-0 and photographed it beside her big sister, much to the credit of both.

We much enjoyed our days at the CFCD commemoration. Malcolm had brought along an exhibition of 16mm scale locomotives and rolling stock, as used during the First World War, both British and French. We have mentioned the Baldwin steam locomotive. He also took along his Baldwin locotractor, developed to slip unseen to forward areas. Those wreaths of smoke, though atmospheric, made steam locomotives a prime target for enemy guns! He brought along a variety of wagons, both French military and WDLR, made from Wrightscale kits. He had come along with what he thought was a life-time supply of Péchot wagon kits; visitors were so delighted to see the models appearing beside the prototypes that Malcolm sold out! He has had to order more.
The photo below is a homage to the Péchot System. Sarah was beside Malcolm with her book 'Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the trenches' and was delighted with the many opportunities to discuss his work with people who could actually see examples outside! 

A Baldwin 4-6-0T in steam heads up a train outside the CFCD engine shed. Wreathed in drifting smoke,can just be seen a pair of Péchot bogies carrying portable track. Behind again is a Péchot flat wagon with its distinctive  stanchions and behind that is a Péchot wagon carrying a newly built reconstruction of an inspection vehicle built in the 1890s. May 1016. Photo Malcolm Wright

Outside the exhibition area can be seen a true homage to Péchot's work. When a French army base closed its 60cm gauge network, the CFCD was given a number of Péchot wagons and other material, dating back to the 1890s! It is a tribute to the resilience of the design that it could be put back to use. Bogie bolsters still carry 10m lengths of portable track as they would originally. The ten-tonne Péchot wagon in the photograph still looks good for its age. Just to prove its load-bearing capacity, the Péchot wagon behind has been rebuilt to a Belle Epoque design as an  Inspection Coach as used by the French high command and President. This was just finished for the May commemorations and we were able to watch this train leave the station and proceed up the line with Sarah onboard (a real priviledge). She was able to watch the original wheel brakes being screwed down as originally designed. It may have been a slightly rough ride for the President of France, but he was truly safe!
Come to Froissy to see this historic material . If you are in the west of France, you can see Péchot wagons in service at the chemin de fer de lac de Rillé, another place worth visiting. It has been mentioned in previous blogs.

CFCD May 2016. In authentic French costumes of the 1916 period, a re-enactment society pose beside a model of Etampes station commemorating its contribution to the War. Photo Malcolm Wright

This photo gives an idea of the hall devoted to models. We are just off to the right, in a good position to catch the re-enactment society in its pose beside the TEE exhibition. At the left were exhibits from the Confrerie des Amateurs de Vapeur Vive which put steam of the first world war period into historic context.  The poilus and  NCO in the photograph represent the infantry and Alpine troops as well as the soldiers who contested the area. As you can see, the French army greatcoat is pinned up during the day for ease of movement but at night could be opened out to provide a blanket for the legs. The coats are French horizon grey, similar to trench railway liveries of the period.The soldier far left wears a 1916 uniform, far right the uniform is a modern reconstruction (not the brighter blue) The bright red trousers have been abandoned in favour of sober grey - for obvious reasons.
Though uniforms and conditions improved during the war, French losses, not to mention other Allies and Central Powers, were terrible. When visiting the Little Railway of the Upper Somme, (one of the names of the CFCD) there are a number of memorials to the fallen which should be visited.All in all, this was quite an experience.